Heavenly Host Authorities and Powers (2)

This topic is the continuation and conclusion to “Heavenly Host Authorities and Powers (1)”.  For additional related background about God’s created angels and other spirit beings, see the topics: “Spirits – Made by God in Light”, “Watchers and Gen. 6 ‘Sons Of God”, “Names & Titles of God in Scripture”, “Jesus Was the Old Testament God”, “Michael in the Bible”.

Little of the material covered in “Heavenly Host Authorities and Powers (1)” is repeated here.  Part 1 noted Bible verses which show that God is supreme among His host (tsabáw Strongs h6635, Hebrew) of celestial beings.  Transliterated Lord of “sabaóth” in New Testament Greek, Ro.9:29 & Ja.5:4.  In the Old Testament (OT), there are lesser spirit beings called “sons of God” (béne ha Élohim h1121 h430).

Some members of God’s celestial host were given a measure of authority over nations.  Wikipedia: Origins of Judaism – Iron Age Yahwism “The various national gods were more or less equal, reflecting the fact that the kingdoms themselves were more or less equal.”  De.32:8-9 Septúagint/LXX “When the Most High divided the nations, He set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. His people Jacob became the portion of the Lord [Kúrios Strongs g2962, Greek], Israel.”  Book of Jubilees 15:32 “Over Israel He did not appoint any angel or spirit, for He alone is their ruler.”  Israel belonged to the Lord.  Ex.20:3 Israel shall have no other gods before/besides YHVH [h3068]!

Some of the “sons of God”, ‘junior elohím’ (h430) or ‘godlings’, weren’t loyal & obedient to God; they didn’t follow His guidelines!  Jb.4:18 “His angels He charged with folly.”  Jb.15:15 “He puts no trust in His holy ones; the heavens are not pure in His sight.”  Poole Commentary Jb.15:15 “i.e. angels.”

Ancient Israel desired to disobediently worship those gods/elohim of the pagans.  De.32:17 “Israel sacrificed to demons [LXX daimónia g1140], and not to God [Elóah h433], to gods [elohim] whom their fathers knew not.”  Wikipedia: Daímon “Ancient Greek; originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit.”  1Co.10:20 “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons [daimonia], and not to God [Théos g2316].”  1Ki.11:33 Israel forsook its God YHVH; and worshiped Astóreth goddess of the Sidoníans, Chemósh god of the Moabites, Milcóm god of the Ammonites.  De.29:26 “They [Israel] went and served other elohim, and worshiped them; gods whom He [YHVH] had not given to them.”  Ps.106:37 LXX the Lord’s people even sacrificed their sons and daughters to daimonia/demons.

De.4:19 “When you [Israel] see the sun, moon or stars, all the host of heaven, don’t worship them which the Lord your God has apportioned to all nations under heaven.”  Pulpit Commentary “Egyptians worshiped the sun as Ra, the moon as Ísis, and the stars as symbols of deities.”  The heavenly bodies represented the heavenly host of spirit beings.  cf. Jg.5:20 (symbolically) “The stars in their courses fought against Siserá [Canaaníte captain].”  De.17:3 no Israelite was to serve or worship other gods/elohim, and not the sun or moon; none of the host of heaven.  No idolatry.

But ancient Israel spurned their God YHVH; they wanted to worship the gods of the heathens instead or too.  So…Ac.7:42 “God turned, and gave them up to worship the host [stratía g4756, Greek] of heaven.”

Following are excerpts from theologians about God’s heavenly host, “sons of God”, celestial “powers”, and God’s ‘council’:

G.B. Caird Principalities and Powers: p.2 “The inferior gods are to recognize the supremacy of Yahweh [YHVH].”  p.3 “These supernatural beings are conceived as forming a heavenly council around the throne of God.”  Ps.89:6-7 see Part 1.  p.4 “In the Old Testament the ‘host of heaven’ usually denotes the sun, moon, and stars; but sometimes it denotes the heavenly court of Yahweh.”  New Bible Dictionary “The two meanings ‘celestial bodies’ and ‘angelic beings’ are inextricably intertwined.”  Ps.96:5 LXX “All the gods of the nations are demons [daimonia].”  In classical Greek, a daimónion was a divine being, bad or good.  ‘To the Greeks it denoted any heavenly mediator between God and man.’

Caird op. cit.: p.12-13 Plato had spoken of daimonia as guardians of cities [Laws.4:713c, 5:738d]….The stars as ‘visible and created gods’, who derived their divinity from the one God, the Démiurge [Timáeus 40d].”  p.15 “According to Philo [On The Change Of Names 4], God performs some of His providential actions personally, and others through the agency of incorporeal powers.”  p.74 “The deities of the pagan state were responsible for the maintenance of law and had been identified with the astrological gods who represented the reign of natural law.”  p.23 “Pagan nations could be represented either by their angelic governors or by their earthly rulers. Any derivative authority which sets itself up as an absolute authority takes on a demonic [daimonion] character.”

Michael S. Heiser The Unseen Realm: p.325 “The New Testament is silent on the origin of demons [daimonia]. There is no passage that describes a primeval rebellion before Eden where angels fell from grace and became demons.”  p.171 “Yahweh chose to disinherit nations at Babel [Ge.11]. Lesser elohim He had placed over [nations].”  p.127 “(De.32:8-9) Yahweh placed the nations under the governance of junior elohim – sons of God of His divine council.”  p.322 “Lesser elohim had governed corruptly and not maintained loyalty to the Most High. Instead, they embraced the worship that should have gone only to Yahweh (De.17:3, 29:26) [Israel especially].”  p.29 “What the ancient idol worshipers believed was that the objects they made were inhabited by their gods. This is why they performed ceremonies to ‘open the mouth’ of the statue.”

Heiser op. cit.: p.324 “The Hebrew text of Ps.8:5 has humanity being ‘a little lower than elohim.”  p.36 “Jesus is indeed identified with Yahweh and is therefore with Yahweh, unique [monogenés g3439, Jn.1:1, 14, 18] among the elohim that serve God.”

Brian Godawa When Giants Were Upon the Earth: p.45 “Yahweh is incomparably THE Elohim of elohim (Deut.10:17).”  Ps.95:3 “YHVH is a great El [h410 God], above all elohim.” (Though other gods exist; cf. De.32:39 & Is.47:5-7 with Zep.2:13-15 Assyria.)  Ps.96:5 LXX “The gods of the nations are daimonia, but the Lord made the heavens.”  p.46 “The physical objects [idols] were without deity, they could not ‘see or hear or walk’; but the gods behind those objects were real beings with evil intent.”

Godawa op. cit.: p.48 “As punishment for man’s repeated spurning of His authority in primordial times (Gen.3–11), God deprived mankind at large of true knowledge of Himself.”  (see the topic “Kingdom of God”.)  Traditionally, 70 ‘nations’ are indicated (Ge.10) prior to Babel.  The (supposed) Book of Jasher 9:32, “God said to the 70 angels who stood foremost before Him, ‘Let us descend and confuse their tongues”.  p.275 “God divided the 70 nations…the sons of God became the ‘princes’ [cf. Da.10:13, 20] or ‘gods’ of those pagan nations, rulers of those geographical territories.”  p.49 “God then allots the people [Israelites] for Himself, through Abraham. But God’s people fall away from Him and worship these other gods and are judged for their apostasy.”

Godawa op.cit.: p.53 “In the Bible, the concept of ‘god’ (elohim) was about a plane of existence, not necessarily a ‘being’ of existence. There were many gods [1Co.8:5] who existed on that supernatural plane, yet only one God of gods.”  Henothéism.  p.54 “Physical idols (images) are ‘nothing’ and ‘have no real existence’ in that they are the representatives of the deities and not the deities themselves. But the deities behind those idols are real demonic beings, the gods of the nations who are not THE God. Monólatry [henotheism? see Part 1] maintains Yahweh as being of a different substance, essence, or species than the other gods.”  p.56 “A heavenly host of thousands of sons of God called gods, watchers, and holy ones who surround God’s throne as an assembly, who counsel with God and worship Him, and some of whom were given rule over human nations in the past, but have lost that privilege.”  p.53 “Jesus is the species-unique [monogenes] Son of God, the ‘visible Yahweh’ co-regent over the divine council. (Da.7:13-14).”

Ac.17:26 “From one man, God made every nation to live on all the earth; He determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation.”  Godawa op.cit.: p.197 “At Babel, God dispersed the peoples, placing them under the sons of God as their deities. God ‘gave them over’ to their wickedness. With the arrival of Messiah, the gospel liberates those gentile nations from their bondage to be united as one in Christ through faith.”  p.276 “After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, these spiritual powers have been overthrown, at least legally losing their hegemony (Eph.1:20-23). The fallen angelic powers are still around, but have been defanged with the inauguration of the Messianic kingdom of God.”  p.282-3 “Jesus said His ministry of casting out demons [spirit non-principalities?] was a binding of the satan [ha satán h7854]. With the advent of Christ, the satan/Accuser has been exiled from the divine council of Yahweh [Jn.12:31].”

Brian Godawa When Watchers Ruled The Nations: p.19 “Yahweh gave the host of heaven to all the peoples as their gods because they were already idolators.”  p.20 “We have no historical or biblical evidence of a period of righteous spiritual rulers or worship of Yahweh [by gentile nations] after Babel.”  p.27 “Stars were equated with gods and gods were equated with stars. This explains the development of astrology as the stars determining our destiny; because the ancient mind thought of the stars as gods, and the gods controlled their lives….[gods] represented in the sun, moon and stars that were worshiped by pagans (Da.8:10-11, Ps.148:2-3).”  also ref Part 1.

Walter Wink Naming the Powers “Much tradition identified Satan as the angel of Rome. Since Rome had conquered the entire Mediterranean region and much else besides, its angel-prince had become lord of all other angel-princes of the vanquished nations.”  The ‘Watcher of Rome’, the national “beast” of Re.13:1-8.  Other theologians view the satan in the OT as the label for an adversary or prosecutor.

Caird op. cit.: p.32 “The Satan. He is one of the sons of Elohim [Job 1:6] and has the right of access to the heavenly court. He acts as public prosecutor (Ps.109:6); his duty is to indict sinners before the bar of divine justice.”  (Da.7:9-10 a view of God’s heavenly court.)  p.16 “It is obvious that the principalities, authorities, and powers which are being reduced to impotence by the regnal Christ are spiritual beings [1Co.15:24].”  p.17 “Paul discerned the existence of angelic rulers who shared with their human agents the responsibility for the crucifixion [1Co.2:6-8].”  p.29 “Men and angels alike have been reconciled to God through the Cross [Col.1:16-20].”  Caird includes even disobedient angels.  p.30 “The state itself may be brought progressively more and more within the Christian dispensation.”  p.46 “In Col [1:20] Paul emphatically asserts that the powers are created beings… destined through Christ to be reconciled to God.”  p.56 “The sphere of Yahweh’s sovereignty was steadily extended until it became commensurate with the universe.”  p.83 “The powers could be reconciled to God only when they had been deprived of their evil potentiality and made subject to Christ.”  p.91 “Thus in putting Christ to death the powers were not asserting their control over Him, they were losing the only chance of control they ever had.”  p.101 “The powers of evil have been defeated by the obedience of Christ.”  p.69 “The world empires of the past are to give place to the saints of the Most High [Da.7:27].”

He.2:5 “He [God] did not subject to angels the world [inhabited earth] to come.”  Cambridge Bible He.2:5 “Things in their pre-Christian condition had been subjected to angels.”  Now there’s no legal angelic dominion.  Col.2:18 ESV “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and the worship of angels.”  Angels aren’t to be worshiped (ref Re.19:10, 22:8-9, Lk.4:6-8).  Rather….

Ps.97:7 “Worship [shakáw h7812] Him [YHVH], all you gods [elohim h430, LXX angels].”  2Ki.5:14-18 Syrians worshiped (h7812) the god Rimmón (Remphán Ac.7:43); the healed Syrian Naamán took back to Syria some Israel soil to make an altar on which he’d sacrifice to YHVH.  Zep.2:11 YHVH the Lord of hosts will famish all the elohim of the earth, and eventually all people will worship (h7812) Him.  Barnes Notes Zep.2:11 “One universal worship shall ascend to God from all everywhere.”  Jesus asserted that His heavenly Father is the “only true God”, Jn.17:3.

Paul wrote that Christians become adopted sons (and daughters, 2Co.6:18) of God!  Ro.8:15 “You have received the Spirit of divine adoption as sons, by whom we cry out, ‘Abbáh, Father.”  also see Ro.8:23, Ep.1:5.  Humanity, made in God’s image & likeness, will share in the God Family!  Heiser op. cit., p.353 “Humanity will become divine [2Pe.1:4?] and displace the lesser elohim over the nations under the authority of the unique divine Son.”  According to Paul, we saints will even judge angels (1Co.6:3).

Again, for more about God’s spirit creation, see Part 1 and the topics: “Spirits – Made by God in Light”, “Watchers and Gen. 6 ‘Sons Of God”, “Names & Titles of God in Scripture”, “Michael in the Bible”.

 

Heavenly Host Authorities and Powers (1)

This topic is about God’s heavenly host.  It expands on the material and Bible verses presented in the topics “Spirits – Made by God in Light”, “Watchers and Gen. 6 ‘Sons Of God”, “Names & Titles of God in Scripture”, “Jesus Was The Old Testament God”, “Michael in the Bible”.  Reference those topics for more background.

To begin, from the topic “Spirits – Made By God in Light”: After Light was brought forth on the 1^st day (Ge.1:3), God made spirit beings lesser than Himself.  Ps.104:2-4 Septúagint/LXX “Who makes His angels spirits”.  The angelic order is composed of spirit beings.  God’s heavenly host (tsabáw Strongs h6635, Hebrew) includes angels.  Ne.9:6 “You are the Lord [YHVH h3068], who has made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host. The host of heaven worships You.”  Cambridge Bible Ne.9:6 “Most probably means the created spirits.”  Benson Commentary “All the inhabitants of heaven.”  Gill Exposition “Angels were made by him, Heb.1:7; and, as the Jewish writers say, on the 2^nd day of the creation, though some say on the 5^th.”  Col.1:16 “By Him [Christ the Son] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible.”  The Lord Christ shared in the Creation.  It includes the heavenly host of beings, normally not visible to human eyes.  JFB Commentary Col.1:16 “Invisible – the world of spirits.”  Barnes Notes “The angels we cannot see. Inhabitants of distant worlds.”  Benson Commentary “The different orders of angels, both those that stood and those that afterward fell.”

Jn.1:14 Jesus was the primordial “Word” (lógos g3056, Greek) of God.  Jn.1:1-3 “The Word was God. All things came into being through Him [Christ the Word].”  “All things” may include lesser spirit beings.  Expositor’s Greek Testament Jn.1:3 “In 1Cor.8:6 Paul distinguishes between the Father as the primal source of all things and the Son as the actual Creator.”  Christ as Executive Creator.  He.12:9 God is the “Father of spirits”.  Meyer’s New Testament Commentary “God, who is Father in regard to the higher spiritual domain of life.”  Barnes Notes He.12:9 “God is Himself a Spirit [Jn.4:24]. Angels and human souls [or spirits] may be represented as especially His offspring.”  JFB Commentary “God is…the Creator of spirits like Himself, in contrast to men who are flesh.”  Pulpit Commentary “It isn’t human spirits only that are here in view. God is the Father of all ‘the spirits.”

In the Old Testament (OT), some lesser spirit beings are referred to as “sons of God”, béne ha Élohim (h1121 h430).  Jb.38:7 at Creation “the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God [bene Elohim] shouted for joy.”  v.7 LXX (Greek) “When the stars were made, all My angels praised Me with a loud voice.”  Da.3:25 “Like a son of Elaáh [bar Elahin h1247 h426, Aramaic].”  Ps.89:6-7 “Who in heaven can be compared to YHVH? Who among the sons of El [bene Elim h1121 h410] can be likened to YHVH? El is greatly to be feared in the council [sode h5475] of the holy ones, to be had in reverence of all those around Him.”  Poole Commentary Ps.89:7 “The whole society of angels.”  Ps.97:9 “You, YHVH are exalted far above all gods [elohim].”  Ex.15:11 LXX “Who is like You among the gods [théos g2316], O Lord [Kúrios g2962].”  Ps.29:1 “O you sons of El [bene Elim], give unto YHVH glory and strength.”  Barnes Notes Ps.29:1 “The psalmist calls upon the angels.”  Ps.96:9 LXX “Worship the Lord [Kurios] in His holy court.”  YHVH the Lord is superior to others.

Da.4:35 the Most High does according to His will in the army of heaven.  JFB Commentary Da.4:17 “A solemn council of the heavenly ones is supposed (cf. Job 1:6, 2:1), over which God presides supreme.”  Jb.1:6, 2:1 “There was a day when the sons of God [bene ha elohim] came to appear before YHVH.”

1Ki.22:19-23 LXX NETS “I saw the Lord God of Israel sitting on His throne, and all the host (stratía g4756) of heaven stood near on His right and on His left.”  Here one of the Lord’s host offered to be a lying spirit to deceive king Aháb!  In the New Testament (NT), Lk.2:13 “Suddenly a vast heavenly host [stratia] appeared, praising God”.  Is.6:1-3 “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord [YHVH] of hosts.”

Ps.82:1-2 “Elohim stands in the assembly of El; He judges among the elohim. How long will you judge unjustly?”  v.6 “I have said, ‘You are elohim’; all of you are sons of the Most High [bene Elyón h1121 h5945].”  However, v.7 “But you shall die like men” may indicate physical judges (not celestial)?  Ps.8:5 Humans are created a little lower than the heavenly beings (elohim h430; LXX “angels”, He.2:7).  ref the topic “Watchers and Gen. 6 ‘Sons of God” for Bible commentaries regarding God’s council.

Yet some celestial beings weren’t loyal or obedient to God; they didn’t follow His guidelines!  Jb.4:18 “His angels (maláwk h4397) He charged with folly.”  Barnes Notes “The idea is that of foolishness.”  Jb.15:15 “He puts no trust in His holy ones; the heavens are not pure in His sight.”  Poole Commentary “i.e., angels.”  Jb.25:5 “The stars are not pure in His sight.”  JFB Commentary “Angels, of which stars are emblems.”

In the NT, some beings in God’s celestial host are called “authorities”, “powers”, “principalities”.  Our Bible translations use English words to describe or identify (ruling) members/groups of God’s spirit creation, the heavenly host.  But some translations use the same English word to represent various terms of the Greek text source manuscripts.  That unspecific practice may confuse.  For consistency, I’ll use the following English words for the associated Greek NT & OT LXX terms:

Authority exousía g1849: Col.1:13 “The Father has rescued us from the authority of darkness.”

Authority g1849 and Powers dúnamis g1411: 1Pe.3:22 “Angels and authorities and powers having been subjected to Him [Christ].”  Cambridge Bible “Including the whole hierarchy of heaven.”  Pulpit Commentary “The evil angels also…against their will.”  Re.13:2 “The dragon gave the beast [a human rule] his power and authority.”  (cf. Lk.4:36, 9:1 regarding the power of Jesus given to His disciples.)

Principality arché g746 and Powers g1411: Ro.8:38 “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, principalities or powers…shall separate us from the love of God.”

Principalities g746 and Authorities g1849: Ep.3:10 “That there be made known to the principalities and authorities in the heavenly places the wisdom of God.”  Ep.6:12 “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but with principalities and authorities, against spiritual authority in heavenly places.”  Col.1:16 “In Him [Christ the Son] were all things created, those visible and invisible; whether thrones, lordships, principalities or authorities; all things by Him and for Him.”  Col.2:10 “You are made full in Him [Christ], who is the head of all principality and authority.”  Col.2:15 “Having stripped the principalities and authorities, He made a show of them openly, having triumphed over them.”  (cf. Lk.12:11 & 20:20 & Tit.3:1, which relate to human rule.)

Principalities g746 and Authority g1849 and Powers g1411: Ep.1:20-21 “He [Father God] set Christ at His own right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority and power.”  Gill Exposition “Far above…good angels and bad angels, and civil magistrates.”  1Co.15:24 “Then comes the end…when He has put down all principality and authority and power.”  JFB Commentary “Whether openly opposed powers, as Satan [a seraph dragon? cf. Is.6:2] and his angels, or kings & angelic principalities.”

Ruler/Prince árchon g758: Da.12:1 LXX Michael the archangel is the great (mégas g3173) ruler/prince.  (cf. Da.10:13, 20-21, Jude 9.)  Jn.12:31 Jesus said, “Now will the prince of this world [kósmos g2889] be cast out”.  Ellicott Commentary “Prince of this world’ was the regular rabbinic title for Satan, as ruler of the gentiles. Jews as well as gentiles have been subjects of the prince of this world (Jn.8:44).”  Re.12:9 “The great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and satan.”  Robert Henderson Operating in the Courts of Heaven, p.173 “Fallen seraphim are now principalities.”

Ruler g758 and Authority g1849: Ep.2:2 “In time past you lived according to the eon [aión g165] of this world [kosmos], according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience.”

Thrones thrónos g2362: Col.1:16 again.  Re.11:16 “The 24 elders [who wear crowns, Re.4:10], sitting on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God.”  also cf. Re.20:4, Mt.19:28.

Most of the occurrences of the above NT terms relating to the heavenly host come from Paul’s writings.

What of those celestial beings/“sons of God” and their human rulers who weren’t loyal or obedient to God?  Is.24:21 “In that day the Lord will punish the host of high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on earth.”  Ellicott Commentary “The ‘principalities and powers in heavenly places.”  Je.46:25 “YHVH of hosts, the God of Israel says, ‘I will punish Amon the god of Thebes [capitol of S. Egypt], Egypt, its gods [elohim] and its kings.”  cf. 1Co.6:3 “Don’t you know that we will judge angels?”

Da.10:13 LXX NETS “The ruler [archon g758] of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days. Michael, one of the chief rulers [g758], came to help me; and I left Him there with the ruler of the Persians.”  G.B. Caird Principalities and Powers, p.6 “These princes are not to be identified with Alexander the Great and Darius 3. They are the angelic guardians of the two nations (Da.10:13, 20, Da.12:1).”  Ibid., p.11 “The Septuagint. It is here we find the terms powers (dunamis g1411), authorities (exousia g1849), principalities (arche g746)…applied for the first time to angelic beings (Ps.148:2, 103:21).”

Members of God’s heavenly host had a measure of authority over their nations.  De.32:8-9 LXX “When the Most High divided the nations, He set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. His people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel.”  Wisdom of Sírach 17:17 “In the division of the nations, the Lord set a [celestial] ruler over every people, but Israel is the Lord’s.”  Book of Jubilees 15:32 “Over Israel He did not appoint any angel or spirit, for He alone is their ruler.”

Wikipedia: Origins of Judaism – Iron Age Yahwism “The various national gods were more or less equal, reflecting the fact that kingdoms themselves were more or less equal, and within each kingdom a divine couple, made up of the national god and his consort – Yahweh [YHVH] and the goddess Asheráh in Israel and Judah – headed a pantheon of lesser gods.”  The “sons of God” [bene ha Elohim] were lesser.

Ex.20:3 Israel shall have no other elohim before/besides YHVH!  Claude Mariottini Other Gods Mentioned in the Old Testament “The 2^nd commandment declares that in Israel no other god should be worshiped in addition to YHVH…the words of the commandment do not deny the existence of other gods…Monothéism, that there was no other god besides YHVH, came into existence late in Israel.”

Wikipedia: Monotheism “The belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God.”  Wikipedia: Polythéism “The belief in multiple deities, usually a pantheon of gods and goddesses.”  Wikipedia: Henothéism “The worship of a single supreme God that does not deny the existence or possible existence of other deities.”  Wikipedia: Monólatry “The belief in the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one [selected] deity.”  Monolatry and henotheism are similar, but henotheists worship only the God they view as the greatest.

Paul wrote in 1Co.8:5-6, “There be many gods and many lords. But for us there is one God, the Father…and one Lord, Jesus Christ.”  Jesus spoke of His heavenly Father in Jn.17:3. “This is life eternal, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

This topic is continued and concluded in “Heavenly Host Authorities and Powers (2)”.  Part 2 includes additional views of theologians and commentaries about God’s host.

‘Thousand (Years)’ in the Bible – (2)

This topic is Part 2 to “Thousand (Years)’ in the Bible – (1)”.  Most of the many verses quoted in (1) won’t be repeated here in (2).  I suggest you read Part 1 before continuing.

We’ve been examining Bible verses & terms that reflect “thousand” and “thousand years”.

From Part 1…The New Testament (NT) passage that prompted the topic is Re.20:1-5.  The apostle John wrote: “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom authority to judge was given. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.”

In the extended passage of Re.20:1-7, “thousand years” appears 6 times.  Is the thousand years meant literally or approximately or as a rounded number?  Or is the 1,000 years figurative or representative?

Figurative language is…using a word or phrase to picture something other than the literal or natural meaning.  We normally interpret literally, actually,…unless the literal sense implies untruth, absurdity, impossibility, contradiction of other verses.  In that case…the meaning is figurative, metaphorical, symbolic, allegorical, hyperbolic, a simile, parable, idiom, a personification…not interpreted literally.

Words can be representative…to denote, signify, portray, or indicate something (else).

In the Re.20:1-7 passage, the NT Greek term for “thousand” is chílioi, Strongs g5507.  Our English word kilo (multiplication by 1,000) is derived from this term chilioi.

In the Greek Old Testament (OT) LXX and Greek NT, chilioi g5507 is the term translated “thousand”.  It can be the precise number one thousand/1,000.  There are 11 NT occurrences: 2Pe.3:8; Re.11:3, 12:6, 14:20, 20:2-7.  Chilioi g5507 can be a precise symbolic, representative, rounded, or literal 1,000.

The term chiliás g5505 is used in plural thousands.  There are 23 NT occurrences: Lk.14:31; Ac.4:4; 1Co.10:8; Re.5:11, 7:4-8, 11:13, 14:1, 3, 21:16.  In the NT, chilias g5505 is never used for the precise number one thousand/1,000.

However, Hebrew had only one term for “thousand”…éleph h505.  It occurs 500 times in the OT.  Eleph is used: for the precise number one thousand/1,000, in numbers exceeding one thousand/1,000 (usually, e.g. 22,273 in Nu.3:43), and for plural “thousands”.  There’s no distinction in the term itself.

In Part 1, we began a lengthy survey of many verses to see how “thousand” was meant in scripture.  Only a couple verses were found (so far) where one thousand/1,000 is clearly literal.

We’ll now continue this in-depth survey and conclude the topic.  I’ve been mostly referencing the LXX for the OT; the Greek LXX language better compares to our Greek NT.

Jb.9:3 “He [man] can’t answer Him [God] one time in 1,000 [g5507] times.”  Benson Commentary “One accusation against 1,000 which God might produce against him.”  But man couldn’t answer charge 1,001 from God either!  Here, 1,000 basically denotes a large number.

Jb.33:23 “If there is beside him an angel [or messenger], an intercessor, one among a thousand, to show to man what is right for him.”  Here too, “a thousand” denotes a large number.

Ec.7:28 he found one upright man out of 1,000 (g5507), but not one woman.  JFB Commentary Ec.7:28 “Solomon, in the word ‘thousand’, alludes to his 300 wives and 700 concubines [1Ki.11:3].”  Perhaps the approximate total of women in his harem was 1,000; many became negative experiences.

Ps.105:8 “God has remembered His covenant forever…to 1,000 [g5507] generations.”  If a generation is 20 years, then 1,000 generations spans 20,000 years.  40-year generations would span 40,000 years!  After 20,000–40,000 years…at generation 1,001 God wouldn’t fail to keep His covenant!  Here, 1,000 denotes a large number.

Ps.50:10 God says, “Every animal of the forest is Mine, the cattle on 1,000 hills.”  (v.10b isn’t in the LXX.)  If God owns the cattle on only 1,000 hills, then who owns the cattle on hill 1,001 and all the other hills!?  Mathew Henry Commentary “Even the cattle which feed upon innumerable hills.”  Here, 1,000 clearly represents an unknown immeasurable number.

Da.5:1 “Belshazzár the king held a feast for 1,000 [h506 Aramaic, g5507 LXX] of his nobles.”  Perhaps 965 or 1,035 nobles were there, or more?  Barnes Notes Da.5:1 “The term 1,000 here is doubtless used to denote a very large number.”  A version of the LXX reads “2,000 lords” (Pulpit Commentary).

Da.7:10 “A thousand thousands (g5505) attended Him, 10,000 times 10,000 stood before Him.”  This verse reflects 1,000 (h506 Aramaic) & 10,000 multiplied.  1,000,000 & 100,000,000!  Gill Exposition Da.7:10 “An innumerable company of angels.”  Thousand is symbolic.  cf. Re.5:11 (g5505).

In the above instances…the number 1,000 would allow for 975, or 999, or 1,001, 1,025, or more.  God owns the cattle on the 1,026^th hill too!  Ps.24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

Ezk.40-48 is Ezekiel’s grand allegorical vision.  Ezk.47:3-5 records four measurements, each of 1,000 (g5507) cubits, in the water that became a river.  Symbolic 1,000s.  cf. Jn.7:38-39 where Jesus spoke of “rivers of living water” of the Spirit.

In Part 1 and Part 2, so far we’ve examined verses where “one thousand/1,000” refers to people or things.  The Meaning of Numbers: the Number 1,000 “In scripture, the term ‘thousand’, when in reference to time, is always used symbolically. It represents any predetermined time that God chooses. In other cases, it is always used symbolically for a large number of people or things.”  That is, referring to the precise number one thousand/1,000.  Now the verses where “one thousand/1,000” relates to time:

In Da.12:11-12 are the 1,290 days and 1,335 days.  Not a precise 1,000 days.  Both periods are g5507 in the LXX.  Many commentaries relate the two periods to the rule of Antíochus Epíphanes, ca 164 BC.  However, there isn’t complete agreement for conclusively tying the two periods of days to specific months then.  Others relate the two periods to Titus’ siege of Jerusalem leading up to 70 AD.

The 1,260 (g5507) days of Re.11:3, 12:6, (13:5)…also aren’t a precise 1,000.  The various interpretations won’t be discussed here.  Bible historians have tied this period of days to 66–70 AD, ending with the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome.  (For comprehensive detail, see Josephus’ Wars of the Jews.)

Ps.84:10 KJV “A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand [elsewhere]. I’d rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God.”  (LXX has plural “thousands”, g5505.)  “Thousand” represents countless days.

Now for the verses where the precise number “1,000” refers to years (not “days”).  The expression “thousand years” is found only in Ec.6:6; Ps.90:4; 2Pe.3:8; Re.20:2-7.

Ec.6:3-6 “If a man begets 100 children and lives many years….Even if the man lives 1,000 [g5507] years twice over and does not enjoy good things….”  Pulpit Commentary Ec.6:6 “What has been said would still be true even if the man lived 2,000 years.”  It’s true even if he lived 980 or 1,020 or 2,020 years…or if he begat 90 or 110 or more children.  The 1,000 years (and the 100 children) are symbolic.

Ps.90:4 LXX “1,000 [g5507] years in Your [God’s] sight are as yesterday which is past.”  Cambridge Bible “The longest span of human life is but a day in Thy sight, though a man should outlive the years of Methuselah.”  The 969 years Methuselah lived (Ge.5:27)…or 1,039 or 1,069 years…are also as yesterday.  As one day.  1,000 years are symbolically as one day.

2Pe.3:8 KJV “Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as 1,000 [g5507] years, and 1,000 [g5507] years as one day.”  The usage of “1,000 years” in this verse is somewhat similar to Ps.90:4.  Benson Commentary 2Pe.3:8 “A thousand years, yea, the longest time, is no more delay to the eternal God than one day is to us.”  Matthew Poole Commentary 2Pe.3:8 “By a synécdoche, 1,000 years is put for any, even the longest revolution of time.”  Bengel’s Gnomen 2Pe.3:8 “He [God] wonderfully exceeds all measure of time.”  In this verse too, “1,000 years” is figurative.

Returning now to our beginning passage of Re.20:1-ff…Re.20:2 “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan, and bound him 1,000 [g5507] years.”  Barnes Notes Re.20:2 “The notion of a millennium as such is found in this passage alone [Re.20:1-6].”  Millennialism is also known as chiliásm (from the Greek term g5505 for “thousand”).  No other passage shows millennium!

JFB Commentary Re.20:2 “A thousand implies perfection. Thousand symbolizes that the world is perfectly leavened and pervaded by the divine.”  Matthew Poole Commentary Re.20:2 “It is probable that it signifies an uncertain, indefinite time.”  Pulpit Commentary Re.20:2 “The best interpretation seems to be that this phrase expresses a quality, and does not express a period of time. ‘1,000’ signifies completeness.”  Ellicott Commentary Re.20:3 “The same applies to the duration of the imprisonment; it is not to be understood literally.”  Kenneth L. Gentry He Shall Have Dominion, p.347 “The thousand is no more literal here than that which affirms God’s ownership of the cattle on 1,000 hills (Ps.50:10).”   Anthony A. Hoekema The Bible and the Future, p.226 “The book of Revelation is full of symbolic numbers. The number ‘thousand’ in this passage ought not to be interpreted in a strictly literal sense.”

In the Bible, “one thousand/1,000 years” refers to a large period of time.  Interpreting the years as an approximation is even a stretch.

The precise number 10,000 (see Part 1) represented a large indeterminate amount.  So did the precise number 1,000 (to a lesser degree or less emphatically).  Spiritual Meaning of Thousand “In the Word, a thousand signifies much and countless.”  Andrew of Caesárea Commentary on the Apocalypse, p. 206 “By the number 1,000 years by no means is it reasonable to understand so many years. For neither concerning such things of which David said, ‘The word which he commanded for 1,000 generations’ (Psalm 105:8) are we able to count these things as 10 times 100; rather they mean many generations.”

Yet there are others who did/do interpret the “1,000 years” of Re.20:1-ff literally.  As the date 1000 AD neared, all over Europe there was needless terror and alarm, because they supposed that satan would be loosed 1,000 years after Jesus’ birth!  (ref Mosheim’s Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, p.340.)

{Sidelight: In 1071 AD the Seljúk Empire of Sunni-Muslim Turks & Persians took Judea and Jerusalem.  This led to the First Crusade. (see Wikipedia: Seljuk Empire.)  History.com “Christians in Jerusalem were increasingly persecuted by the city’s Islamic rulers, especially when control of the holy city passed from the relatively tolerant Egyptians to the Seljuk Turks in 1071. In 1095 Pope Urban publically called for a crusade to aid Eastern Christians and recover the holy lands.”

The date 1071 AD was 1,001 years after the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem.  Some Bible readers literally relate Re.20:7-8 to the hostile Seljuk control of Jerusalem.  Re.20:7-9 “When the 1,000 years are completed, satan will be loosed…and will deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, and gather them for war…And they surrounded the beloved city.”  Turkey has been tied to the historical Gog and Magog.  Later Ottoman Turks controlled Jerusalem until 1917 AD.  But after 1,000 years of restraint, a next period of 846 years, from 1071–1917 AD, isn’t a “little while” comparatively (Re.20:3)…it’s near to another 1,000-year period!  So this view as fulfillment is doubtful.}

Interestingly, an ancient Greek & Roman belief was…the spirits of the dead dwelt in Hades for 1,000 years, and then were reincarnated or resurrected to earthly life. (for Hades: ref Lk.16:23; Re.1:18, 20:13-14.)

The Roman poet Virgil wrote ca 20 BC Aenéid, lines 735-751 “The dead are disciplined in purgatory….Each of us finds in the next world his own level….All these souls, when they have finished their 1,000–year cycle, God sends for…They may revisit the earth above and begin to wish to be reborn again.”  Ancient Greek Mythology For Kids “The River Ácheron carried the good souls from the Underworld [Hades] that were sent back to earth after 1,000 years to be reincarnated as mortals.”

Wikipedia: Millennialism “The concept of a utopian millennium, and much of the imagery used by Jews and early Christians to describe this time period, was most likely influenced by Persian culture.  Zoroástrianism describes history as occurring in successive thousand-year periods, each of which will end in a cataclysm of heresy and destruction. These epochs will culminate in the final destruction of evil by a triumphant messianic figure.”

Job said in Jb.29:18 JPS Tanakh, “I thought I would end my days with my nest [family], and be as long-lived as the phoenix”.  The Tanakh is the Jewish (OT) scriptures.  Bereshith Rabba Traditionally, only one bird, of all creatures, didn’t eat from the tree of forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden.  Barnes Notes Jb.29:18 “Herder observes that the phoenix is obviously intended here….Jannai adds that ‘this bird lives 1,000 years, and in the end of the thousand years, a fire goes forth from its nest, and burns it up. But there remains an egg, from which again the members grow, and it rises to life.”  1,000-year symbolism.  Also ref 1Clement 12:2-6 (25:2-ff in some translations) regarding the phoenix. (cf. Ec.6:6.)  also see the topic “Rebirth to Physical Life (1)”.

Belief in a 1,000-year period had also existed in ancient Egypt.  The Works of Voltaire, v.3 “The belief …in this period [1,000 years] was also in great credit among the Gentiles. The souls of the Egyptians returned to their bodies at the end of 1,000 years.”

The apostle John and readers/hearers of Revelation in Asia Minor likely would have known of existent beliefs about Hades and 1,000-year periods.  It seems that Re.20:1-ff superimposes upon those ancient beliefs the true reign of messiah Jesus with His saints in the Kingdom of God.  (see the topic “Kingdom of God”.)  While the mustard seed of the Kingdom grows & progresses (Mt.13:31-33), some think satan is being progressively bound and is only effective in a decreasing percentage of humanity.  (Someone in bonds and restrained may still have an effect to a degree, as Paul did have, e.g. Phm.1:10.)

Over the centuries there have been churches which make dogma with definite time limitations, and prognosticators make (false) predictions or so-called prophecies…based on the “1,000 years” of Re.20.

John Whiteford If Satan Is Alive, Why Not Millennialism? “We’ve seen similar heresies with millennialist eschatology in more recent times, with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, 7^th Day Adventists, Mormonism, the Jim Jones cult, and Branch Davidians.”

The purpose of this topic isn’t to analyze or criticize church groups.  Or eschatologies…e.g. historicist, futurist, amillennial, premillennial, postmillennial, preterist, partial preterist, etc.  For more on timing in the Bible, see “The Last Days”, “Babylon the Great’ in Revelation”, “Two Witnesses in the Bible”.

The scriptures we examined indicate that “1,000 (years)” meant a large number or a long undefined time.

Postmillennialist Kenneth L. Gentry The Beast of Revelation, p.133 “The number ‘1,000’ is frequently used in scripture as an indefinite, yet significantly large, number (Pss.90:4, Dan.7:10, 2Pet.3:8).”

OT scholar Erhard Gerstenberger, “For ancient Israelites, the numbers 1,000 and 10,000 were regarded as immense and immeasurable”.

Conclusion: In Part 1 and Part 2, the precise number “one thousand/1,000” people or things was seen in several verses as an approximation or a rounding.  But very few verses were found where “one thousand/1,000”…no more, no less…was meant to be taken completely literally.  Of all the verses surveyed in Part 1 and Part 2…the precise number “one thousand/1,000” appears clearly literal only in Ge.20:16 and SS.8:11-12.  Possibly 1,000 is literal in 1Ki.3:4 and Nu.31:4-6 (see Part 1).

We began by quoting the “1,000 years” of Re.20:1-ff.  The other 3 verses where “1,000 years” appears in the Bible, Ec.6:6; Ps.90:4; 2Pe.3:8…aren’t to be taken literally.  If the “1,000 years” of Re.20:1-ff is to be taken completely literally…it would be one sole canonical witness, standing alone.  Our Bibles don’t contain two or three passages as witnesses to a “millennium”.